western bureau

Another alleged lotto scammer, who is accused of fleecing $1.4 million from persons abroad, was remanded pending further investigations when he appeared before the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.

When Resident Magistrate Winsome Henry denied bail for 22-year-old customs officer Tommy Vickers of Tucker in St. James; he could be seen wiping tears from his eyes as he was escorted from the courtroom in handcuffs.

Defence attorney Morrel Beckford pleaded with RM Henry to grant conditional bail so that Vickers could spend Christmas with his family. But the RM stated that the accused could interfere with the investigations and the complainants.

The prosecution is alleging that customs officers received information that Vickers was collecting large sums of money from individuals overseas and started an investigation.

Collecting customs fees

Enquiries revealed that Vickers had allegedly told the persons that he was responsible for collecting customs fees for lotto winnings. He allegedly collected $900,000 from one individual through Western Union and an account belonging to him.

The police are also investigating an additional $500,000 that was discovered during further investigations.

Beckford told the court that Vickers' mother lives in England and sends remittances to him, which may account for some of the money in his account. However, RM Henry said that she needed the additional information from the police before considering bail in the matter.

The case is scheduled for mention on January 15. In the meantime, the prosecution is still awaiting a statement from the complainant among other relevant documents to complete its case.